Lauren Gill

Why should we study First Nations perspective in school? in class written

I think we should study First Nations perspective for several reasons. First, aboriginal people were the first to
occupy the country of Canada and play an important role in out history. They have a unique perspective on the
land, for example respecting animals, trees and the weather. It is important to know this because the first
aboriginals probably knew a lot more about the land in Canada then most people do today. Secondly, the
aboriginal people have been oppressed within our society. Looking back, it is obvious that it was wrong to treat
First Nations this way. Therefore it is important to talk about the mistakes that the government of Canada made,
so students can learn from them so history will not be repeated. Additionally, First Nations people might feel
that education is one way to repay them for the damage that Canada has caused them.

Chanie Wenjack

Mr. Wilson had us watch The Secret Path and gave us three related articles to stress not only the
importance of Chanie Wenjacks death, but also the cultural genocide of the indigenous people that took place in
Canada not long ago. Chanie Wenjack was a young aboriginal boy, who died trying to get home when he ran
away from his residential school in northern Ontario. It is a tragic story of a boy who was forcefully taken from
his parents and would go to any lengths to get away from the situation that he was put in. This story has become
quite well known, as many artists and authors have made works dedicated to Wenjacks life.

The first piece we watched was an illustrated album called The Secret Path. It was a compilation of songs
dedicated to Wenjack, using emotion and notes to tell the tragic story, along with a visual component where it
showed Wenjacks story. The second piece we read was an article called The Lonely Death of Charlie Wenjack,
that essentially described the story of Wenjack in great detail. A line that stood out to me was when the author
mentioned overhearing a conversation between an older shop keeper and a young employee about a drunk
aboriginal person, where the older man blamed the aboriginal people for doing this to themselves. The young
boy proceeded to protest that it was Canada who did it to them, not themselves. It opened my mind to how
much prejudice people have without having enough information or the whole story to back it up. The third piece
we looked at was called How Chanie Wenjack chose Joseph Boyden by Joseph Boyden. The article described
how the author any several other artists were putting together works to honour and spread awareness about
Wenjacks story. Boyden says he picked this story because he believes Canada is still a haunted house, and needs
more awareness and reconciliation for the aboriginal people to finally right its wrongs. The last article we read
was Canadas Founding Myths Hold Us Back from Addressing Climate Change by Naomi Klein. This piece
addressed the underlying reason for indigenous discrimination, stating that Canadian government wants
unrestricted access to natural resources, and the aboriginal people are a barrier to that. The author also
emphasizes that you cannot apologize for a crime that is still in progress, referring to the indigenous land right
disputes.

Unfortunately, the story of Wenjack is not a one off. Aboriginal children trying to escape residential
schools was frighteningly and understandably common. These residential schools were damaging for indigenous
kids did not understand English or white culture, there were many cases of abuse and sexual assault, and to top
it all off had been stripped away from their own families and values. Wenjacks story is one example of the
haunting and tragic experiences that the Aboriginal children must have had.
 Lauren Gill

By studying Wenjacks story in class through songs, writing and video, awareness is brought to how the
Aboriginal people were treated.

Synthesis of 3 articles

The cultural genocide of the First Nations people is a great tragedy and dark stain in Canadas history. In
The Lonely Death of Chanie Wenjack by Ian Adams, How Chanie Wenjack Chose Joseph Boyden by
Joseph Boyden and Naomi Kleins Canadas Founding Myths Hold Us Back from Addressing Climate Change,
a prominent theme discussed is the assimilation of Aboriginal people into white culture.
In order to move onto a better future in terms of relationships between the aboriginal people and the
government of Canada, three things must be achieved. First off, awareness and information must be spread
about the issue. Reading Wenjacks story or researching about the history of aboriginal people in Canada will
achieve this. Secondly, it must be determined who caused this mistreatment and why it occurred. To better
understand both sides of the story, it is best to examine the underlying reasons that caused it to happen. Lastly,
the crime must be acknowledged, stopped and then reconciled. This is a very important stage as it repairs the
damage done and promotes a healthy relationship between the aboriginal people and the government of Canada.
Chanie Wenjack was a young Canadian aboriginal boy who faced the horrors of residential schools.
When Wenjack was just a young boy he was ripped from his family and placed into a residential school. At the
age of 13, he made his escape. Unfortunately, his home was too far and the weather dropped below freezing,
causing Wenjack to die on the side of the railroad track that was supposed to lead him home. Wenjacks story is
tragic and exemplifies the magnitude of the detrimental effects that residential schools had on the aboriginal
people. Unfortunately, the story of Wenjack is not a one off. The number of kids placed into these residential
schools may have been as high as 30,000 (Boyden 6). Aboriginal children trying to escape residential schools
was frighteningly and understandably common. These residential schools were damaging for indigenous kids, as
they did not understand English or white culture, there were many cases of abuse and sexual assault, and to top
it all off, they had been stripped away from their own families and values. These residential schools affected, not
just the child, but the entire family as well. For example, upon hearing of his sons death, Wenjacks father was
grief-stricken bewildered and angry (Adams 6). Residential schools were a tactic to assimilate the first nations
people into white culture. Boyden calls it a multi-generational cultural genocide that left a great stain on our
country (5). One of the ways to acknowledge this mistreatment is to spread an awareness about it. Making
reliable and unbiased information available and teaching a First Nations perspective in school are both things
that can obliterate uninformed opinions.
What was the rationale behind these residential schools? The underlying reason was that the Canadian
government wished to divest itself of its legal and financial obligations to the Aboriginal people (Klein 3).
Without the first nations people in the way, the government could get unrestricted access to natural resources.
The residential schools were used as a form cultural assimilation, to strip aboriginal kids from their heritage,
languages and family values. While this is now known, some would say there is still a lingering prejudice against
first nations people. For instance, Adams recalls overhearing a conversation about a drunken aboriginal woman
where a surveyor of the scene said Thats what they do to themselves (Adams 5). This comment shows that not
everyone knows the full history of the mistreatment of aboriginal people and may judge an entire race without
knowing the full story. Fortunately, more awareness has been made about this situation. At Wenjacks trial the
jury suggested that A study be made of the present Indian education and philosophy. Is it right? This question
was a precursor to the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, which would be formed a few years after this
incident, in attempt to acknowledge and learn from the past to move on to a better future. Understanding the
reasons for the mistreatment of the First Nations people, and learning from these mistakes is a step towards
reconciliation.
The mistreatment of aboriginal people is a dark part of Canadas history, but to some extent it is still
happening today. Boyden refers to Canada as a haunted house (4), implying that there still may be some hidden
 Lauren Gill

truths and cover ups. Today, as often seen in the news, there are still land claim disputes and hostile attitudes
between the Canadian government and the aboriginal people. Although Canada is trying to make up for its
actions, there can be no reconciliation while the crime is still in progress (Klein 3).
Through awareness and understanding of the First Nations perspective, Canada can reconcile its
mistakes and have a repaired and renewed relationship with the indigenous people.